Book 1: Fated To Be
by CreativeJournalist
Summary: Manic discovers he's been destined for something far greater than he could imagine. Question is, will he succeed or fail? Faced against a horde of demons, a jokester imp, and his siblings’ strange behavior, it's hectic. ON HIATUS!
1. Prologue

Ta-da! The first book of the Demon Slayer series!!! The start of it all!!! I hope you enjoy this. Keep those reviews coming and I'll continue. Please do because I believe this is going to be awesome. This segment doesn't have much action but I figured you need to know about the beginning.

I don't own Sonic Underground. If I did, I would finish the series. The Demon Slayer theory is mine though.

_On with the show!!!!!!!_

**The Demon Slayer**

**Book 1: Fated To Be**

Prologue

_In our world, there are three plains where one's soul resides. Heaven, where angels and good souls are. The underworld, the home of demons and terrible souls. And in-between is the land of the living, where new souls are tested to life's challenges. When a being dies, where they go next depends on how tainted or clean their soul is._

_There are times when these plains cross paths. Sometimes a spirit is lost and continues to roam the land of the living. Once they finish their purpose, they continue on. Sometimes angels come to the living and give guidance for a better life. And on a period of eighteen to nineteen years, demons break free from the underworld and terrorize the living._

_In Africa around 3001 B.C., when demons came forth once more, a priest's prayers for help were answered. An angel instructed him how to create a weapon to send the demons back to where they came from. Immediately, the weapon was made and in two months was ready._

_It resembled a dagger with a few precious stones on the handle and a sacred symbol near the end of the blade. It has many names but they all translate along the lines of 'The Blade of Righteousness.'_

_Only one could wield this blade. The chosen one was one of its makers, Jabari. He had transformed this dagger into a sword, a saber. He roamed the land and destroyed the demons, sacrificing his life in the end._

_This sword traveled through many civilizations, taking similar but different forms. The pattern was always the same. Demons come forth, a new master, known as the Demon Slayer, is chosen, demons are slain, the master is killed, and then a period of peace._

_In the 1950's, an anthropoid animal was first created, in space, then Earth, both hedgehogs. Around the same time in France, a prophecy was formed. It said that a Demon Slayer would become obsessed with power, kill mortals and angels, and the world would be overrun with demons._

_This did not occur for many years and was soon forgotten, as well as the existence of the Demon Slayer. Over the years, the anthropoid animals were populating the planet and the humans were dwindling. Over time, the Earth became know as Mobius. Presently, Dr. Robotnik, who stole the throne from Queen Aleena Hedgehog, rules it._

_Now, in the year 2759, the cycle occurs again. He is the 320th Demon Slayer and the 14th anthropoid animal to be one. As the ones before him, he shall fulfill his duty, but he will do things no one else has done before. Let's hope the world doesn't go to chaos while he's at it._

_And who is he?_

---_._

Wow, that was a breather. Cliffhanger, though I'm pretty sure you can guess who it is. Seriously, let's hope chaos doesn't happen. I just guessed on the year. I'll try to post the next chapter for you next week. I want to see what you all think of first. Well, you know the drill, read and review.


	2. Chapter 1 Awaken

Ta-da!!! Chapter 1 is up! Man, I had fun with this one. Sorry about the beginning. This is where the real fun begins. I don't own Sonic Underground. Demon Slayer theory is mine though.

_Let the show begin!!!!!!!_

**Chapter 1: **Awaken

Manic Hedgehog flew across the sky, catching the last gusts of wind before the day ended. He was flying in no particular direction; just letting the winds take him wherever.

It was a good way to unwind, especially after the day he and his siblings, Sonic and Sonia, had had. For a few days now, there had been unexplainable attacks committed and, surprisingly, Dr. Robotnik wasn't behind them. In fact, he was just as confused as they were.

Unknown forces were attacking everyone. Messy and bloody killers. Citizens and SWATbots were no exception.

The Sonic Underground had decided to investigate, but so far nothing turned up. This angered Manic. He wanted to find them to make them pay for hurting innocent people. But who were they?

The green hedgehog was so into his thoughts that he didn't realize that his hoverboard had tilted downward. He snapped back to reality when he was a yard away from the ground. Surprised, he turned up sharply, too much, made a loop, and came to a stop level with the ground. Another second and he would have crashed.

"Whoa. Talk about cutting it close," he said. A quick glance around showed that he was in a barren land with nothing around. Except for the giant mountain range less than a mile ahead. Their peaks were jagged and rough and he could see a few patches of white up top even though it was the middle of spring. Opposite them, the sun was sinking slowly into the horizon, turning the sky orange and pink.

Manic figured it was time to head back to the van. He rose up a few feet in the air but glanced back at the mountains. In the back of his mind, something was telling him to explore further. The temptation was strong. Overpowering.

He gave in, figuring a few more minutes wouldn't hurt. He flew closer to the range, keeping close to the ground. A few moments later, he turned his hoverboard slightly to the left.

He still didn't know what he was doing here but he was sure where _here_ was. The Scribner Mountains, several miles southeast of Robotropolice. Not much vegetation and they went really high up. No one wanted to hike here much.

Manic came to the base of the mountain range and continued to travel left, running his hand across the rock. He went around a particularly large piece and then his hand felt empty space. Sure enough, there was a big, gaping hole, a cave. About five feet high and three feet wide, opening up in the side of the mountain like the mouth of some vicious creature.

Something screamed inside of him to turn around, but the feeling that drawn him to this place was stronger. He jumped off of his hoverboard and placed it near the entrance of the cave. From his fanny pack, he took out a flashlight he nicked a few days ago. His siblings always disapproved of him stealing, but one never knew when something might come in handy.

The sun was fading fast so he knew he had to make this quick. Switching on the flashlight, he stepped into the darkness.

All of his senses went on high alert but Manic could not see any danger. But there was something, something that made his fur stand on end.

"Getting all freaked out over a little darkness," the hedgehog muttered to himself. "There's nothing to sweat over." But he knew it was a lie.

Yet, he continued, going deeper into the cave. He went on for what he thought was an hour when the space suddenly opened into a larger room. The ceiling rose about ten feet higher than before and. The walls were completely covered in symbols, most he didn't recognize. In the center was a large slab of stone resembling a sarcophagus jutting out of the ground, only one marking on its lid.

"Great. You stumbled across a dead guy and now you're probably cursed or whatever they do." Manic felt that he should turn around right now but that same pulling feeling drew him closer to the sarcophagus.

His light began flickering, casting eerie shadows on the walls. "Shoot." He tapped it lightly, but it kept getting worse. Soon he would be in total darkness.

He heard the noise a split second before it happened. Too late.

The flashlight clattered to the floor as an invisible force pushed into Manic, sending him crashing into the stone wall. He heard it moving and barely managed to get out of the way from another attack. A sharp pain came to his head and he fell to his knees behind the sarcophagus. For a moment there was silence and he wondered, foolishly, if it was his imagination. But the pain he felt was real, eliminating the idea.

Suddenly, he heard a movement above him. A grinding sort of noise. Little bits of stone hit him on the head, it felt more like needles in his skull, and he looked up. In the dim light, he could see the huge stone slab that had covered the sarcophagus was now floating in the air!

"Crap!" Manic shouted. He rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by it. The rock broke into two pieces but one of the pieces was lifted up again.

The hedgehog stumbled backwards and his foot hit something. His flashlight. Without really thinking, he snatched it up and threw it as hard as he could near the floating rock. It must have hit its mark. When it seemed that it would hit empty space, it bounced off of something invisible. Something blackish started leaking and a loud shriek was heard. The rock fell and broke into smaller pieces.

Silence. Manic stepped forward cautiously. He was pretty sure he didn't kill it; he could still hear something scraping. Now, he was curious about what is inside the now open coffin. When the flashlight flew over it, he had seen something shine in it.

He knew he should be running now before it, whatever it was, attacked again. But the pulling feeling had returned with full force. Manic picked up the dim flashlight, noticing the black liquid on it. Whatever the thing was hadn't moved much as the dark drops kept dripping in place. Shining on it, he realized it was actually dark blood.

It sent a chill down his spine. But he ignored it, turned to the open sarcophagus, and shined the light in it. His eyes widened when he saw not bones, which he had been expecting, but only a sword. A sword that had a symbol near the hilt, the same one from the lid.

Amazed at what he had found, and what he hadn't, Manic had let down his guard for just a moment. But it was enough for the invisible force. It jumped over the sarcophagus, making drops of blood fall on the sword, and seized Manic, knocking him to the ground. He cried out in pain when his sore head hit the hard ground.

Then, something slashed across the hedgehog's face, leaving four cuts. Luckily it missed his eyes, two slashes were on his cheek, one on his chin, and his ear was badly torn. Manic tried to punch his attacker but hit only air. The attacker responded by digging its claws into his chest.

Manic screamed in pain. His wounds were beginning to burn and he noticed his vision beginning to flicker. Was he going to die? In some unknown place by an unknown attacker?

The attacker clawed deeper into his chest. Manic then saw a shape begin to appear in front of him. Black, blurry, and hovering above his body. But now that he could see it, he could see the advantage. The blood from it was dripping from what looked like the head. He made a fist and swung with all the strength he could muster at that spot.

The attacker was obliviously surprised, and even more surprised when the hedgehog punched him two more times. It hovered away from him, howling in pain. Manic slowly and painfully got to his feet. He gripped the sarcophagus for support and turned to the thing. He noticed that it was getting clearer. It was taller than him, slightly muscled, long claws, and blazing, angry red eyes.

"Heh, see how you like getting beaten for a change," Manic said to it. His hand snuck to the sword and just as the creature charged at him in fury, he swung as hard as he could. The blade cut into the side of the attacker and it screamed in pain. Awkwardly, Manic pulled the sword out and thrust into its chest. It screamed even louder before, finally, disintegrating into dust and blood.

Manic stood there, panting and holding the bloodstained sword. When it occurred to him what just happened, he dropped it and fell on all fours. His mind tried to process what had happened but it seemed too unbelievable. He was too exhausted to try to understand anyway.

His vision was becoming fuzzy and black as his blood leaked out of him. He also noticed the pain was going numb. Was he dying?

A sharp, searing pain came to his left hand, making him gasp. He tore off his bloodstained glove and stared at what was forming. The same symbol on the sword and the broken stone slab; a cross, an x, a leaf, and a circle inside a larger circle, was now burned into his hand.

At last, blackness overcame him and he fell to the floor, unconscious. The flashlight flickered and died, bringing the bloody cavern into darkness.

_The Demon Slayer has returned._

---_._

Well, how was _that_ for a chapter, huh? Better than the prologue I'm sure. I wish I could show you guys the symbol but I have no idea how. If anyone knows, it will be appreciated. I simplified it in writing. Hope it was okay. Well, as they say, read and review!


	3. Chapter 2 A Long Night

Okay, here is the next chapter. Yes, it's late and I'm glad for your patience. I hope it is good enough. I had fun with the fighting scene again.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic Underground. I own the demon slayer theory though.

**Chapter 2: **A Long Night

About ten miles away from the Scribner Mountains, there was an area known as the Hideaway Rocks. There lay a few oddly shaped boulders scattered about that perhaps have been there for hundreds of years. Time and Nature had changed their original shapes into different formations. As their name implies, it allows someone to hide away somewhere, providing perfect cover from attacks. One wouldn't be seen and could attack their enemy without being hit back.

But underneath one of the overhanging rocks is a van, the Sonic Underground van. Inside, Sonia Hedgehog was pacing while her brother, Sonic Hedgehog was eating a chilidog.

"Where could he be?" Sonia asked, referring to her other brother, Manic. "He should've been back here half an hour ago."

"Relax sis," Sonic said. "I'm sure he's got a good reason."

"That's what you said ten minutes ago!" the pink hedgehog shot back. "But is he here yet? No!" Sonia took a pillow that was lying around and started punching it. "For all we know, he could have been ambushed by whatever is attacking the town. You think that's a good enough reason?"

Sonic was becoming aware that his sister might lose her temper. He set down his chilidog and went over to her. "Okay, you're right. It has been too long. I'll go out and look for him. You stay here in case he comes back."

Sonia took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to calm down. "Fine. But _you_ come back in one hour. Got it?"

"Hey Sis, with my speed, I'll find under fifteen."

She looked skeptical. "Oh really? Do you know which way he went?"

Sonic thought about it and, having no clue, took a guess. "South?"

The pink hedgehog shook her head. "No, east."

"I knew that," Sonic said. "Hey, no worries Sis. Manic knows how to handle trouble. But if he is, I'll get him out of it. Meantime," he added with a smirk, "take a chill pill before your hair turns gray." With that, he threw open the door and zoomed away before she could shout after him.

Sonia knew he was right. It didn't do much good to keep worrying. She flopped down onto the couch, still clutching the pillow. But her thoughts kept drifting.

What could possibly make him late? Lost track of time? Hardly, he would notice it was really dark now.

Lost? Possibly, but who could miss these rock formations they were hiding behind? Plus, he was also the one who dragged them here. He had said that it was possible that someone was hiding here, but no luck.

Captured? Possible. If not by SWATbots, then by whatever is attacking Robotropolice. Especially so considering they knew next to nothing about this new enemy. Only the gruesome ways they did to their victims.

She shuddered and stopped thinking any further. She kept telling herself that he would _not _get captured and would _not_ get killed by those… vicious killers. The choice of words seemed too tame though.

She was surprised when her pillow suddenly ripped and stuffing flew everywhere. She gathered it up, forcing to keep herself occupied.

-

Manic at first thought he was dead. Everything seemed dark and he felt numb. No pain at all. But then he felt the cold stone ground underneath him as he slowly regained consciousness.

His hand brushed against something: the hilt of the sword. The memories of what happened came flooding back to him with a jolt. The monster, the sword, the blood. So unbelievable, yet, at the same time… there was no way it could be.

Manic slowly stood up, amazingly without any pain. But how could it be? Dust stirred up as he moved, making it hard to breathe. He felt for the sword, and upon finding it, grasped it. He found his bloody and useless flashlight as well and put it inside his fanny pack.

He walked blindly to the tunnel, wanting to get out of this darkness.

-

Sonic ran to the Scribner Mountains. He wasn't sure what his brother was up to, but whatever the reason, it couldn't be good. He just wanted to find him, alive and safe. Easier said than done.

The mountain peaks came closer and he ran faster.

-

Manic could see that the tunnel was getting lighter, at least a little. He ran the rest of the way and burst out into the open air. He breathed deeply and felt completely calm. All he sensed earlier was gone.

It was definitely late. The sun's light was completely gone and the stars were out and sparkling.

In this vague light, he noticed that he was covered in blood, his own and the monster's. The sword, however, was completely clean. But it was bloodstained earlier. _Must be a trick from lack of light_, he thought.

Manic had just located his hoverboard when he was suddenly overcome by weariness. He staggered and nearly fell. He managed to get on his hoverboard and flew close to the ground. If he fell off in his drowsiness, he didn't want to from fifty feet in the air.

Just as the green hedgehog flew away, Sonic had just come to the mountains and turned right, completely missing him. Neither one was aware of the other.

It took Manic several minutes to get back to the Hideaway Rocks. He kept trying to deny what had happened in the mountains, trying to ignore the sword he held clasped in his hand. It was too much to absorb, too incredible and unbelievable.

He had almost succeeded when he felt the sword start to vibrate. He glanced at it just in time to see it give off a faint glow, then shape shift into a small dagger. It was small enough that it could fit inside his fanny pack.

"I think I had enough surprises for one night," Manic muttered to himself.

At last he came to the van. He entered hesitantly, bracing himself for the dreaded lecture from Sonia. But surprisingly, it seemed as though no one was home. He considered himself lucky when he heard his sister snore softly from the couch. Should he wake her up? Better not. She was usually crabby if woken up before nine.

Promising to think it through tomorrow, Manic headed for the shower to wash the blood off then to hit the sack.

-

Twenty minutes later, Sonic had arrived back at the van. He opened the door hard, which slammed loudly into the wall, jarring Sonia awake.

"Jeez! I couldn't find him anywhere! I searched everywhere and not a single trace! Did he come back here?" Sonic ranted.

Sonia yawned and, not altogether awake, responded, "Who?"

The blue hedgehog sighed, more than a little exasperated. "Manic. Our brother. Did he show up?"

"Yeah, I showed up." Sonic and Sonia turned and saw Manic come out of his bedroom, rubbing his eyes to wipe away his drowsiness. "How can a hedgehog get any sleep, huh?"

"Jeez, Manic," Sonic said. "What took you so long, huh?"

"Um," the green hedgehog struggled to find an answer. "I'm not really sure, bro."

"You don't know or you don't want us to know?" Sonia asked.

Did he? "Um, the first part."

"Come on, bro. You must have some idea," Sonic pressed.

Manic felt like tearing his fur out. "Okay, listen. I'm not sure what happened last night. Once I get some sense of it…" he trailed off. Even if he did understand it, even if it _was_ real, would he tell them? Sure, they were his family, but it was a really crazy story to believe. He wasn't even sure if he believed it.

"Did you ever figure out the reason why you dragged us out here?"

"No. I don't know. It was just a hunch," he said defensively.

"Well, it is possible that someone could have hidden out here," Sonia said. "Yet, there would have been some sign."

Suddenly, something slammed hard into the van and it lurched to one side. "What on Mobius was-," Sonic was cut off when the van was hit again and again. Things began flying out of the cabinets and clattering to the ground. With difficulty, Sonic raced out of the door with his siblings in tow.

Suddenly, something ran into them, throwing them to the ground. "Hey bozo," Sonic shouted as he stood up again. "What are you trying to-" he was interrupted as he got knocked down again.

Manic thought he saw it but it was too quick to see. He tried to stand up but got knocked down too. He felt something scratch his arm but it wasn't deep enough to cause any damage.

Then as suddenly as the attack came, it stopped. Nothing attacked the hedgehogs as they stood up. There were a few minor cuts, but nothing serious. "What on Mobius was that?" Sonia asked.

Manic looked behind one of the huge rocks and saw a cloud of dust in the distance and it was vanishing fast. "Hey, I see something out there," he said. "It looks like its headed back to Robotropolice. Looks even faster than you, bro."

"Faster than moi?" Sonic said. "No way. Come on sibs, let's get him."

The blue hedgehog grabbed his siblings' wrists and ran in the direction of the vanishing figure.

-

The triplets reached Robotropolice minutes later. The city was quiet, unusually quiet. The news of the savage killer had spread like wild fire and no one wanted to be out at night.

Unfortunately, one person did not make it in time tonight.

The hedgehogs had lost the attacker and there were no clues to where he or she went.

"Where did he go?" Sonia said.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed through the night. They knew what that meant: the savage killer.

They followed the screams, but suddenly they stopped. They turned down the alley too late. The killer's latest victim was definitely dead. His body was completely mutilated and shredded; his blood was all over the walls.

They might have been too late to save him but maybe not too late to stop his killer. Scuffling noises were heard further down the alley.

"Hold it, buddy!" Sonic shouted. He zoomed down the alley, Sonia and Manic following behind him. Sonia called up her keyboard and in that moment of bright pink light, Manic saw it before it fled around the bend.

It was similar to the one last night, except it had green eyes this time. It was also slightly taller and had longer claws, which were still covered in blood. It made him sick to his stomach and he glanced at his siblings to see their reaction.

Surprisingly, they acted like they hadn't seen it. Like it hadn't there at all. For a moment, he hoped he had been imagining the whole thing. But feeling the point of the dagger in his fanny pack eliminated the idea. He called to his siblings, "Guys! It went down here!"

Sonic ran around the corner and stopped short in front of a wall. Sonia and Manic caught up to him a second later. The green hedgehog could see it climbing just above them.

"You're sure he went down here, bro?" Sonic asked.

"Yes," Manic shot back. "Look up. It's right there!"

The creature stopped climbing and looked back at the hedgehogs. It grinned as if amused but Manic could see a hint of confusion in its eyes. His siblings kept looking but apparently they didn't see it.

Then a sudden thought came to him. This was no normal creature. It was too horrific and cruel and it stank of something dead. It was completely invisible to normal beings. He glanced at his hand, the one that bore the strange mark he received earlier that night. Something had happened then; something that had changed him. And he was no longer normal anymore, allowing him to see these… demons.

That's what described them perfectly. Demons.

He looked up just in time to see his brother run right up the wall and stop at the top. He had been just inches away from the demon. "He must have scrammed," Sonic said. "Maybe you did see someone and we just missed him."

_You have no idea,_ Manic thought.

"Well let's get him before he kills someone else," Sonia said. In the blink of an eye, Sonic ran back down the wall, took a hold of his siblings, zoomed over the wall, and landed on the other side. The demon had swung its claws to get them but they were too fast. It growled and started crawling after them.

Manic saw it and quickly pointed in a random direction. "I think I saw something over there."

The hedgehogs ran in that direction but, of course, nothing was there.

"Jeez! The guy's quick!" Sonic said, exasperated. "Come on out, coward!"

Sonia thought for a moment then said, "Maybe he's trying to get us confused and then have us split up. That way, he can get us one by one."

"Well if that's his plan, it's not going to work," the blue hedgehog responded. He turned around and noticed only Sonia was with him.

"Uh, where's Manic?"

-

Reluctantly, Manic had slipped away when his siblings where distracted and was now headed to the demon. It wouldn't do any good if they couldn't see the thing.

Speaking of which, where did that thing go? He could have sworn it was-

He sensed it rather than heard it behind him. He turned around just in time to see the demon fly right at him. It collided into him and pinned him to the wall. The demon led out a snarl, releasing smelling breath.

"Ugh," Manic grimaced. "Ever heard of a breath mint?"

The demon did not like that. It threw him further down the alley and flew after him, its claws extended. Manic slammed into the wall and rolled away just in time to avoid the attack. He crouched down behind a wooden crate to catch his breath. The demon was thrashing around, trying to find him.

Manic pulled out the dagger, which immediately transformed into the sword from earlier. He let out a small gasp; he wasn't used to this yet. But, the demon heard him and began to claw at the crate. Manic jumped away before it was smashed to splinters. He gripped the sword with both hands, waiting. Neither one moved for a moment.

Suddenly, blue and pink laser blasts shot into the alley, coming from Sonic's guitar and Sonia's keyboard, respectively. The demon screamed as a few of the blasts hit it, though Manic was sure he was the only one who could hear it. The demon jumped and flew over Manic, desperate to get away. The green hedgehog was not about to let that happen.

He ran after it, ignoring the shouts of his siblings. He followed it back into the street, when suddenly; the demon did a turnabout and charged right at him. Without having any time to think, Manic swung his sword, just in time.

Blood spewed onto him as a great piercing scream echoed and the demon started thrashing about with the blade stuck in its head. It wrenched out of his grip, taking the sword with it, and was floating erratically. It finally crashed into another alley and a bunch of dust erupted from that spot. The screams stopped at last, bringing peace to the hedgehog's ears.

"Manic!"

Manic turned to see Sonic and Sonia emerge from the alley he came from. They ran to him but suddenly stopped short. Manic looked down at himself and saw he was covered in dark blood again.

"Manic, are you okay?" Sonic asked.

"As okay as I can be," he answered.

"We must have hurt him bad," Sonia said. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Not too bad."

Something moved out of the corner of his eye. Manic turned, expecting the demon to be back. Instead he saw a SWATbot advancing, its laser gun charged. Three more SWATbots came out of the shadows and surrounded the hedgehogs.

"Priority hedgehogs," they said. "You are under arrest."

"As if we didn't have enough trouble," Sonic said, voicing what the others were thinking.

---_._

How can things get any worse? No reviews, that's what. So don't disappoint the story and send one. By the way, if something needs improving, let me know.


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